Bittersweet
by shir0usagi
Summary: Loke always finds his way to Lucy's aid, like a knight in shiny armor. One time though, he asks for something in return: a date. But what he wants more than anything is to be there for her, even if she loves somebody else


_**A/N:** Hello friends! This fic was for a request on tumblr. Lolu always has a special place in my kokoro, hehe. I wanted to post it here too, because this ship has a very small fandom and the fanfiction is rather few. It's not romantic through and through, but I hope you like it :3_

* * *

Lucy heaved a long sigh, flip flops sinking in the warm sand.

It was so hot she was practically dripping with sweat, the handles of the plastic bags she was carrying dug painfully into her palms due to the weight they contained, and she was pretty sure she was getting an awful sunburn across her shoulders and back.

But that was possibly only one third of her problem.

The rest of it was by far the two guys shamelessly hitting on her since she left the canteen. It seemed 'no' was a foreign word to them.

Why had she volunteered to buy refreshments for everyone on her own again?

"You should come and join us sweetie."

"Don't be afraid babe, we don't bite."

A vain popped on her temple, and she cursed herself inwardly for not taking her keys with her. Huffing, her gaze shot up and she realized, to her relief, she had almost reached the spot of the beach where her guildmates had settled down. Wrecked everything upside down to be more precise, but for Fairy Tail those were one and the same.

"Like I said" she forced a smile through clenched jaw, "my friends are waiting for me."

"They seem to be having enough fun without you" one of the two chortled, snaking a hand around her hip. "Now, they wouldn't mind if you spend some time with us instead."

Amidst her irritation, Lucy was thundered with an idea. She shook his hand away with a scowl. "My boyfriend won't be happy if he sees what you're doing. _At all._ "

"And where is he now?" a whisper came to her ear, and her nose wrinkled at the smell of smoke and alcohol –too much alcohol for morning– emanating from the other man's breath. "I wouldn't let such a beautiful girlfriend walk around alone if I were him."

Lucy was severely contemplating giving them a nice kick in the nuts, but thought she might as well play along with her idea till the end. "Oh, he's here, should I call him over?"

Her eyes searched frantically for Natsu…only to find him doing some kind of monkey dance with Happy.

 _Great._

She then spotted Gray chatting with a very joyous and sparkling Juvia. But as desperate as she might have been, Lucy would much rather have to deal with those jerks alone than give her friend an actual reason to call her a love rival.

She was starting to lose all hope when her gaze fell on the mess of ginger hair she'd recognize anywhere.

"Loke!" she called.

The spirit turned on his foot upon hearing his name, brows knit in confusion when he noticed the bulky figures beside her.

Lucy saw them stiffen as Loke approached, and let the bags down with a thriumphant smirk.

"Lucy!" His eyes flickered at her, then up at them. "And you are..?"

"I don't know these two…" she said sweetly as she leaned into him, straightening the collar of his unbuttoned hawaiian shirt. "I told them I wasn't available but they wouldn't listen." Her brown eyes bore into his hazel ones, silently begging him to read the situation.

The quirk of his lips told her he got the hint as he wrapped an arm around her back. His fingertips brushed across her skin and tangled in the ribbon of her bikini top.

Had it been any other time, she would have scolded him for the boldness but right now this was within what the circumstances needed.

"Mates, you'd better not have harassed my girlfriend." A terse warning, a narrow stare; it was all it took for them to gasp that it was a misunderstanding and leave in defeat.

"Thank you." She said, awkwardly pulling away once they were out of sight.

"No problem" he smiled, "you know you can always count on me."

He really was her knight in shiny armor. Always coming to her aid, as though he had an alarm that went off every time she needed him.

"This time though, I'd like to ask for something in return…" he said.

Lucy blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Loke leaned closer, lips curled in a sly smirk that sent heat across her face. He paused for a moment, then moved to her ear and whispered "Dinner. Tonight. Just you and I.

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia was extremely unnerved with herself that day.

She was unnerved that she had taken her sweet time to dress and make up, although she kept repeating to herself that she was absolutely _not_ trying to make herself look drop-dead gorgeous for Loke. Instead she'd blame it on the fact that she had never been on a date before –if she could call it that. She was unnerved that she thought he was too charming for her own good whenever her gaze lingered on him a little longer.

But most of all she was unnerved that, throughout the evening, not once had he tried to flirt with her, which made her…curious. And perhaps a little – _just a little bit_ – frustrated?

Sure, he had told her that she looks stunning when he came to pick her up, but that was all. Where was the teasing, where were the innuendos that made her blush and have to brush him off? This was Loke after all.

"What." he asked, after a while she had remained silent.

"Hm?"

"You're staring at me like I have something weird on my face."

Everything about his face was perfect but this was not the time to dwell on that.

"You're obviously thinking about something. Go ahead."

"I'm not…" she wiped her mouth on her napkin, averting her gaze, only for it to flicker up at him seconds later.. "Okay… I just think you're not acting like your usual self. I don't know, you're… "

"Behaving too much?"

"Yeah." she admitted, eliciting a chuckle from him.

"I'd never force you to date me in that sense, Lucy. I merely see this…" he gestured between them, "as two friends catching up."

Okay, that she did not expect to hear.

Loke cocked his head to the side, flashing an attractive smile. "Surprised?"

"To be honest, yes."

"You know" he began after a stretched moment of silence, "the connection I have with you doesn't only allow me to sense when you're in danger. I can also tell what's in here." He tapped a finger on the left side of her chest, where her heart had assumed an embarrassingly fast pace. "Not to brag but I think I can read through you pretty well."

Lucy was very much confused by his enigmatic words, and couldn't find a proper response, so she took a generous gulp of her drink instead.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…I know you have feelings for Natsu."

She nearly choked on her liquor at that, coughing violently and panting for air as the alcohol burnt her throat.

"I'm not in love with Natsu!" she hissed once her breathing allowed her to speak again.

"I never mentioned 'being in love', but thanks for confirming my thoughts."

She opened her mouth to retort, but to no avail. Admitting to herself that she has feelings for Natsu had taken her long enough, so hearing someone state it so bluntly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world made her feel so…transparent.

And embarrassed. At this point, she thought someone might as well fry an egg on her face.

He leaned back, nonchalantly tracing the rim of his martini glass. "It's quite obvious, if I'm honest, from the way you grieved when he was not around…the way you shine when you are together." He forced a weak smile. "Like today."

She buried her face in both palms, and her voice came muffled. "What am I going to do? He's my best friend."

"Hey, don't despair. You don't know how things will unfold."

"Why are you telling me all this though?" She asked, fumbling with her napkin nervously.

"Why indeed…" he sighed. "I'd love to be in his place, you know, if your feelings were meant for me instead. I care deeply for you, Lucy. But it's better this way…It makes it easier for me to let go. I might look human, but I'm not. I could never hope for something between us. Still, I want be by your side. You were so hurt when you…" he hesitated, unsure of how he should word his thoughts, "when you lost Aquarius, and I could do so little for you…"

"Loke…" she started but he held up a palm, making her falter.

"I'm bound to you. I'm going to watch you make your dreams come true, have children, grow old. So let me fulfill my duty, not as your spirit, but as your friend." His hand reached from the other side of the table and squeezed hers tight. "Trust me with your sorrow, your worries, your dreams, because I want to be there for you. For as long as you exist."

Tears welled in her eyes, spilling onto her cheeks, and she placed her other hand atop his. "I will." she sobbed, "You'll always be my knight."

"Now now, I didn't mean to make that pretty face cry."

"I'm sorry, I just–" Lucy sniffed, wiping the tears and smeared mascara with the back of her knuckles."Oh boy, look what you did." she laughed.

"I can also tell that you're attracted to me though." he teased.

Lucy slapped his arm gently as a blush tinted her cheeks in bright pink. "Shut up!"

"Alright, sorry."

"Loke?"

"Mhm?"

"Thank you."


End file.
